Yearly Archives: 2019

A story in bricks: Ladyhawke comes to life in a family affair

Often, art ends up being a family business. How many Bachs and Strausses and Brueghels are there, to name a few? In the LEGO world, there are few notable families, too, one of which is the Durand clan. They boast such talents as Geneva (formerly known as KaiNRG), Isaiah (also known as Robert4168/Garmadon), Josiah (also known as W. Navarre), Sarah (also known as 24 Cupcakes), and Anna. All but Isaiah contributed to the collaborative build category of this year’s Summer Joust (put on by another famous LEGO family, Isaac and John Snyder), and the resulting story told in bricks is breathtaking. They opted for a full-frame, all-LEGO format for their presentation, which is exactly my cup of tea. They are telling, in four builds, the story of Ladyhawke, a 1985 medieval fantasy movie starring Matthew Broderick and Michelle Pfeiffer. The story begins in Aquila, built in technicolor by Josiah.

Click to see the other builds in the collaboration

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LEGO Stranger Things Castle Byers event build & Comic-Con exclusive Barb minifigure [Review & Editorial]

LEGO has gone all out to promote the new LEGO Stranger Things 75810 The Upside Down set released earlier this summer, with a hilarious retro designer video, and a contest on LEGO Ideas (don’t miss TBB’s own Darker Hawkins LEGO contest). These are all things that every LEGO builder can enjoy together, but LEGO has also released two items to much more limited audiences — Will’s fort Castle Byers (a small build given away only to attendees of launch events in London and New York City) and fan-favorite Barb (a unique minifigure only available at San Diego Comic-Con). Both of these are now only available at exorbitant prices on the secondary market. The Brothers Brick picked up each of these so we could bring you a hands-on review.

Read our hands-on review of these unique LEGO exclusives from Stranger Things

A series of familiar scenes from Vietnam

Writers are often taught to write what they know, to create from a place of familiarity. This simple technique can also apply to building LEGO scenes depicting everyday life, like this delightful series by Khang Huynh, who, judging by their Flickr profile, is fairly new to building custom LEGO creations. They’re off to a great start, and I’ll be keeping a close eye out for more from this talented builder.

In this first scene, built using a colorful but muted palette, we see a city street being worked on by a most unusually colored excavator. Also, notice the teal brick separator tool stacked on the roof. I really like how the look of the separators is continued around the corner. Another great detail is the use of a Power Functions motor as a transformer.

Check out more Vietnamese scenes by Khang Huynh

Two-headed Dragon Roars to Life

Builder Patrick Biggs strikes again with another super-technical creation: “The Brothers.” This two-headed, dual-tailed dragon is enough to strike even the bravest of knights full of fear. The way Patrick designed the dragon is equally awe-inspiring.

I find the way the builder united both Bionicle-esque pieces with normal studded parts on the legs and tail of the dragon to be truly innovative. Additionally, the crazy amount of joints across the entire dragon allow for an large amount of potential poses, allowing for stories to take flight. I could easily see one of the heads breathing fire across a village while the other roars, announcing doom across the land.

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for August 4, 2019 [News]

In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick brings you the best of LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the first week of August 2019.

We take a closer look at the new LEGO Technic 42099 4×4 X-treme Off-Roader with our review. Keep reading our Brick Report to get all the details.

TBB NEWS, FEATURES AND REVIEWS: This week we saw over 65 new sets released, got instructions for the coveted SDCC Exclusives, reviewed the LEGO Technic 42099 4×4 X-treme Off-Roader and said goodbye to a beloved AFOL artist. Meanwhile, our mind-flaying Stranger Things contest continues gathering strength and entries.

LEGO Collectible Minifigure Series 19 revealed – Official photos are now available for the upcoming Series 19 Minifigures. Which ones will you be getting?
Public tickets for BrickCon 2019 LEGO Fan Exhibition in Seattle on sale now – Tickets for BrickCon 2019 in Seattle are now on sale. Will we see you there?
LEGO Hidden Side now available with more than 65 other new LEGO sets and gear – We have your guide to all the new LEGO sets now available for August, including the new Hidden Side theme, Architecture, City, Friends, Harry Potter, Jurassic World, Technic, Ninjago and even some cool shiny backpacks.
Instructions for LEGO San Diego Comic Con 2019 Exclusives now available – Build instructions for the San Diego Comic Con 2019 LEGO Exclusives featuring Batman, Star Wars and Captain Marvel.
In memory of Ingmar Spijkhoven – In memory of legendary LEGO truck builder Ingmar Spijkhoven.
VESTIGE – A LEGO space exploration short film documentary [Feature] – A rare insight into a campaign that was pitched to LEGO by Brian Ellis and team. Watch the video and behind the scenes production and read our interview to find out more.
A little dirt never hurt: LEGO Technic 42099 4×4 X-treme Off-Roader [Review] – The latest addition to the LEGO Technic lineup brings Powered Up motors, Control+ smart app and tons of fun indoors and outdoors.
TBB’s Stranger Things building contest is flipping things upside down – Only one and a half weeks left to enter our Stranger Things contest. Read about all the details in the article.

See more LEGO news from around the web

What’s the matter kid? You never had lamb chops?

Faster than a T. rex can eat a lawyer, Jonas Kramm continues cranking out Jurassic Park vignettes. After bringing us the raptor dig and introductions of John Hammond and Dennis Nedry, Jonas now takes us to the Tyrannosaur paddock. Everything about this scene is iconic from the colorful Ford Explorer touring vehicle to the T. rex bait behind the fence. There is some excellent composition here, including the angling of the fence and lush landscaping behind it. Judging by the smile on Lex’s face, she probably hasn’t seen the goat yet.

See more amazing LEGO Jurassic Park vignettes

Don’t just walk – boogie to your favorite tunes with this LEGO Walkman

We’ve seen excellent Walkman-themed LEGO models in the past, but this one by H.Y. Leung is an absolute cracker. The cassettes are beautifully put together, and the parts choice and shaping on the headphones are particularly good. The buttons on the tape player’s side are relatively simple, but accurate to the original piece of hardware. And, whilst the cable doesn’t appear to be “purist” LEGO building, its messy tangle adds immensely to the build.

And they all lived together in a little crooked house

Mastering the art of LEGO architecture can be difficult enough, but jaapxaap goes a step farther with this seemingly impossible little house full of color and texture. This type of work, dubbed “ramshackle style”, is a personal favorite of mine. The skill required to pull off an organic building such as this is a special one.

The sloping roof is extremely impressive with its purple tiles and the seamless way the two roofs meet. One of the keys to this style is a variety of texture which the builder pulls of admirably here. The combination of profile bricks, SNOT pieces and tiles create the feeling of a house that is constantly in repair. The building’s color palette is quite appealing in various shades of brown accented with pinks and purples. The landscaping is similarly appointed with an array of plants of different sizes, shapes and colors.

See more of this purple-roofed house

Majestic microscale mansion in the sky

There is something magical about a floating castle. Not just the unanswered question of how and why it drifts among the clouds, but also the exotic promise of breathtaking views from pretty much any vantage point. In this microscale castle by Dr. Zarkow, I am left wondering where all that water is coming from. One of my favorite details has to be the small green gears used for leafy trees. The new wand from the Wizarding World makes the perfect prow for the floating ship, and don’t miss the use of a white car tire beneath the dome.

Does all this steampunk bug you?

Renowned builder Jonas Kramm is no stranger to the world of Steampunk superheroes. In 2013, he created an amazing Steampunk Batcave, and now returns to the theme. This time he has re-imagined Marvel’s Ant-man and the Wasp as Geantelman and the Steam Wasp. The Wasp is a bit removed from her spandex-clad cinematic counterpart but still sports a version of the iconic Pym bug-control helmet. The rest of the figure features an interesting mix of parts, including wings constructed from window lattices, a torso from Talia Al Ghul, and skirt from Elizabeth Swann Turner.

Geantelman also wears a steampunk version of the ant-control helmet, but that’s overshadowed by the giant ant he’s riding. (I say giant, but is it really? Who can tell with these size-changing heroes. For all I know this could be a 1:1 scale build.) The ant is full of great details, like the use of a Nexo Knights breastplate with shoulder pads as the eyes. Multiple copies of Luke Skywalker’s cape form the wings, a mining helmet is used as the lower jaw, and the often-used ice cream scoops represent steam. The real stinger though? That has to be the wind up key on the end.

Allow myself to introduce...myself

No, you’re not looking at identical twins. You are looking at Adam Dodge and his new ventriloquist puppet. The one on the left was constructed from LEGO bricks while the one on the right (I’m 95% sure) was devised by more natural means. One is a dummy, the other isn’t, but both insist that you don’t call them that. The one on the left can move his eyes, lips, eyebrow, hands, legs and feet while the one on the right…can do the same.

This photo illustrates the inner workings of the one on the left while the inner workings of the one on the right is comprised of organic goo not fit for daytime viewing. The one on the right said there was a ventriloquist in his family history so he figured…what the heck! I think the one on the left said the same thing, but the other one was barely moving his lips so now I’m not sure. The one on the left said my two-bit comedy routine was all washed up. On second though I’m pretty sure it was the one on the right that said that. Wow, this post started with such confidence and now I don’t know what’s what! Just watch this video of the dummy in action!

A fishing boat that’s making waves as a great catch

You can find plenty of good seafood in Vietnam, but you need a way to catch your meal. What better way to do so than on the deck of this colorful squid fishing boat built by Hoang Dang? Practicality meets beauty thanks to the body’s bold blue, yellow and red color scheme, and additional ornamentation like lanterns and rigging used as clotheslines suggest this is a lively vessel.

Take a closer look at this colorful fishing vessel